Conservative leader Michael Howard has challenged Prime Minister Tony Blair to explain why so many people have had operations cancelled.
His call came after 69-year-old Margaret Dixon revealed an operation to rebuild her shoulder has been cancelled seven times.
Mr Blair said her case was unacceptable, but said the Tories were misleading people by picking out an individual case and using it to "run down the whole of the National Health Service".
Do you think the NHS is performing better or worse these days? What are your experiences of the NHS?
This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.
The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received so far:
 |  If we want a better health service then we have to pay more tax to fund it |
My partner works in the health service and she has to put up with aggression from patients and their families, long hours and poor working conditions yet all hospital staff get is criticism. If we want a better health service then we have to pay more tax to fund it, simple as that. Perhaps if private healthcare wasn't so readily available then those with the money and power to change things would have to get treated alongside us ordinary plebs. I figure that we would then see standards improve very quickly.
Paul, Brighton, UK I have worked in the NHS for 28 years, starting as a hospital porter, then orderly, nursing auxiliary, then a junior hospital doctor before finishing (currently) as a GP. The general science and diagnostics of medicine has improved significantly (I trained in a pre-CT scan era) so the NHS has generally improved over this time. However, within the last 5-7 years this improvement has waned, not because those at the "coalface" are not working as hard as before (in many cases even harder) but because the organisation and administration increasingly systems the service provided to patients.
Phil, UK
You get what you pay for. Currently we pay far less per head on our health service than the likes of France but we arrogantly expect the same standard of service. Also, too many people jump on the bandwagon of moaning about the NHS, especially in relation to the managers who run it. Someone has to run it and it is better that it is these managers than doctors, who would be dragged away from patients to do the accounts.
Andrew, London
| Let's modernise the health service and improve value for OUR money |
Many people talk of the NHS being 'free'. It's not free; we pay for it via our taxes. Let's get rid of political ideology and be willing to embrace a culture of the customer (patient) being the most important person to satisfy. On that basis, whether some or all health services are provided by the State or private providers becomes irrelevant. Even socialist France has fully embraced the private sector and health insurance schemes - let's modernise the health service and improve value for OUR money.
John, Northwich, UK In 1997 we heard "24 hrs to save the NHS". Eight years on dirty hospitals with MRSA, imported nurses and doctors because not enough of our people will work under the conditions with targets, red tape overloaded with bureaucracy, decisions made by managers instead of medical staff - it's got a long way to go for the NHS to be better. MRSA figures down? With an election coming up would they say they weren't?
R. Howard, UK
How could Mrs Dixon have had her operation when the Tories were last in power? Under that administration, Warrington Hospital didn't have any HDU beds. It's Labour's NHS spending that installed them, and provided all the support staff. No system can ever be perfect but four HDU beds must be better than none.
Terry Hill, Cheltenham, Glos
The NHS used to include dentistry. The government abandoned providing a dental service, leaving those on tiny incomes to be excluded from all help, unless they are dead! I have been asked to pay �1200 out of an income of �5,000 per year and the exclusions prevent me from receiving help.
Lawrence Harris, Southampton, UK
| Picking one person out of the masses isn't necessarily indicative of the general NHS quality |
The trouble with a topic like this is everyone will have tunnel vision views of the NHS. It's not that our views are unimportant, it's just that we cannot see the big picture because we're not in a position to do so. Michael Howard The trouble with a topic like this is everyone will have tunnel vision views of the NHS. It's not that our views are unimportant, it's just that we cannot see the big picture because we're not in a position to do so. Michael Howard picking one person out of the masses isn't necessarily indicative of the general NHS quality. Whatever the case, I think we need to rise above politics and show some more appreciation for the amazing work our hospital staff offer.
Tony S, UK I think it is performing better. Yes, it's not perfect, and yes there's work to be done. But Tony Blair has shown he's prepared to put his money where his mouth is and invest in the NHS. It will take a long time to recover from chronic underinvestment by the Tories, and now Michael Howard is the one to act like he cares? You had your chance when your government was last in power, Michael.
T, UK
I would like to say I have found the NHS brilliant. I am currently pregnant and the response from the maternity unit to any pains or niggles I have felt has been really quick, even having me in to monitor the baby to check everything is fine. I also got a very quick appointment (2 weeks) for physio due to pregnancy causing pains in my legs and a quick appointment for dermatology to check out a mole I have that's changed. We are very lucky that the NHS is free and people should be more thankful for what we have. The Conservatives wore the system down, now they like to try and blame Labour for a mess they made originally. Labour are making the system work better than ever as far as I am aware.
Angela, UK
My 71 year old dad has had an operation cancelled 5 times, the first time was last July and the last time was today he was due to go in on Monday, it is not a major operation but the stress it causes him each time he is on the verge of going in is not a healthy situation to be in, so in my opinion the NHS is going down.
Sharon Andrews, Croydon, UK
I've worked in the NHS just short of 3 years, on the 'administration' side of things. Half of my job is producing figures and reports showing performance against government set targets. The only reason that there is so much money spent on administrators is because of the amount of pieces of paper needed to show how well we are conforming to targets. The NHS does a sterling job for 95% of the patients that come through its doors. These few examples are horrendous, but it does not give a clear picture of how the NHS is working. Try focusing on some of the good examples for a change.
Anon, UK
Other than long waits for minor consultations, my personal experience of the NHS has been pretty good. The actual care I have needed has been first class. My family, less so. It seems that the whole 'discipline' of the hospital enterprise has evaporated, morale is low on the wards and work is done less well. Hospital cleaners is a case in point - my brother was recently admitted, and my overwhelming impression was that despite the billions spent on the NHS, the hospital didn't "seem" as clean and tidy as hospitals in other countries do. On the whole, it seems the NHS runs a happy ship - but sometimes is a little remiss in the daily scrubbing of the poop deck.
James Coyle, London UK
Not so long ago, there was a hospital in every town, a specialist hospital within 30 minutes reach, a doctor in every village, matrons to keep the hospitals clean and a senior doctor to run the hospital. That model worked. Any government that can't see this is misguided.
David Ball, Wokingham, Berkshire
In my twenties I worked in a hospital as a "domestic" during college vacations. I had to keep various areas clean and my work, though not onerous, was inspected by the ward sister. There was no question that I was expected to do a thorough job. What I also noticed then (almost 40 years ago) was that nurses were constantly on the wards attending to (nursing) patients, helping them eat and move around. There were no Nursing Stations. I cannot recall ever having seen an administrator other than the occasional visit of Matron.
There was a great 'family' atmosphere even in what was quite a large hospital. There was always spare capacity, too, with wards available at short notice and I never witnessed a bed shortage or patients waiting in corridors. So called 'efficiency' measures, as in industrial settings, have robbed the NHS of flexibility and capacity and nurses are now more akin to technicians. The NHS is definitely worse and, in my view, being prepared for privatisation (over a long time period).
David, Manchester, UK.
I think it is going from bad to worse. My Father-in-law died last month in a filthy geriatric ward of a Liverpool hospital that the government recently praised. A friend has recently used her old age savings to get a shoulder operation done privately because of the NHS wait. I am about to do a 200 mile round trip to go to my old dentist because there is no local NHS practice. I assume the positive stories come from NHS managers or Labour party activists who are fit and well! (I forgot to say my mother's GP in Norfolk resigned last month out of disgust at the NHS, so she doesn't have a GP at the moment and sees a different locum every week.)
Alex, Crendon, UK
As an ex-pat living in the US I can say that Mrs. Dixon is fortunate to even consider getting her shoulder fixed by the NHS. Here, her cost would run into $10,000s without health insurance and she would be out of pocket $1000s even with health insurance. Consider yourselves in the UK to be lucky to have such a fantastic health system!
Jeremy Beck, California USA
Investing more money in the NHS is easy - particularly when it is other people's money. The government's role is to ensure that we are obtaining the level of healthcare that the country needs at a price that is good value for money. Government "investment" has increased far more than the return on that investment.
Eddie, Cheshunt, Herts
| The NHS has done my Mother proud |
My 90 year old Mother was taken to A&E at Ealing on 2nd December last at approx 9.10 am - she had a broken hip and femur. By 1.00 pm she was x-rayed diagnosed and taking up a bed in an orthopaedic ward. Since then she has been given a hip revision and had a plate screwed into her femur. She was transferred from Ealing to Central Middlesex because Ealing admitted that they did not have the expertise to carry out her operation. She was subsequently operated on by a Senior Consultant and who has done his best for her - she was moved to a rehab hospital last week - hospital 20 years old - 8 beds to a ward and the physios haven't given up on her despite her age - the NHS has done my Mother proud.
Pauline, London In any organisation the focus of attention should be on areas that are not working well. Those who argue that the NHS is wonderful are guilty of the same tactics that the Soviets used, "never mind how hungry you are just look how many tractors we are making".
Andy Malcolm, Trefnant, Wales
Sorry - but I'd rather be in an NHS hospital than any other hospital in the world. My experience of healthcare in this country has never been less than excellent. The NHS is something to be very very proud of...
Anon, Kendal
The NHS experiences my wife and I have had in Essex over the last year clearly show that whilst the front line medical staff work their socks off to provide an expert caring service, the administration and procedural side is inept and at times archaic - probably made worse by targets imposed by bureaucrats and politicians. Time for the NHS to be run by the professionals for the patients and not by the bureaucrats for the politicians.
Bob Green, Essex, England
What this sad episode highlights is the lack of "frontline" resources in our NHS. Michael Howard has exploited this poor woman's plight for political gain. If the Tories are elected I've no doubt we'll again witness the savage cutbacks in "frontline" services previously administered under the Thatcher/Major governments in order to repay their already wealthy supporters with generous tax cuts.
John Webb, Buckingham England
If the French and Germans can run decent health services then why can't we? Simple, they have populations who are willing to fund it, people smart enough to run it efficiently and governments that actually care about public services. Enough said, time to move.
Anon, UK
| People's expectations are just too high these days |
The free NHS service we all have access to is marvellous! People's expectations are just too high these days. People are living longer, therefore the burden on the NHS keeps growing. Lets support our health service not keep running it down.
Maggie, Scotland Again, I can only comment on my own individual experience, but when I had a corneal ulcer last year, I was admitted to hospital 5 hours after I was diagnosed, and was given my own room in a newly constructed eye unit (presumably built with extra money from Labour?). Sure I has to wait a bit, but it is a public service, and I received a really excellent quality of treatment.
Rachel Yarrow, Cambridge, UK
Most of the money that gets pumped into the NHS goes to employing managers! There is too much red tape and not enough nurses on the ground!! The press only like to report the bad things and not the good that the NHS do.
Steve, UK
I heard Michael Howard saying yesterday that the bureaucracy should be taken out of the NHS. That's rich! The Tories put it in the first place by creating a structural layer of financial management in hospitals, diverting funds to pay their salaries rather than putting the money where it should be - at the sharp end!
Irene, UK,
Our doctors and nurses do a fine job in extremely trying conditions. The waste is in the terrible management and administration of the NHS, cure that and all of the money will get to the right people. Stop knocking the NHS, sort out the cleaning companies contracted to them (aka: MRSA), bring back the Matron to control it all. To Robert Ward I do not know which country your living in, but the NHS is free? Personally I have been making my contributions since Dec 1961. To all of our Doctors and Nurses, my wife of 35 years has just had an operation on her face, brilliant no scars etc and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.,
Noel Crump, Daventry, England
| Nurses and doctors deserve our praise, not cheap attacks. |
What are hospitals meant to do? If an elderly person has an appointment for an operation on a painful shoulder, yet a car crash victim comes in on an ambulance, they have to treat the most urgent case. Everyone can have sympathy for Mrs Dixon, but if you were in a car accident, you'd be pretty upset if a hospital decided to treat someone's albeit painful shoulder, instead of your broken spine. Doctors have to base decisions on the most urgent clinical need. Nurses and doctors deserve our praise, not cheap attacks.
Gary Kennedy, London
The NHS has much in common with the rail network and other (once) public services - ruined by Tories; massive funding by 'New' Labour, which mostly goes to the private sector; less capacity; less effective generally (unless you believe the stats) and a never-ending political football. We have no NHS Dentists around here, and the NHS trusts are looking to close hospitals to save money. I'll not vote for 'New' Labour or the Tories ever again.
Jim, East Yorkshire
The NHS is far better now than they were over the past few years. I have a lot of experience as a patient and recently my father had a stroke and had to go to Winchester hospital. Care now is better, technology and skill better and the concern shown for privacy and the sensitivity to patients non-clinical needs all much higher than 7 or 8 years ago. I owe my life to the NHS, they saved it when I had a road accident in 1977,but the treatment then and the standards of cooperation with the patient rather were not as high as now, thought he staff were and are just as dedicated. I remember the Tories wreckage of the NHS, lets not go back there; Michael Howard must think the public have very short memories!
Cliff Leach, Andover Hants UK
To be honest, I really don't see any difference despite all the extra cash that has gone in. It still took me over a month to see my GP the last time I tried, the NHS dentistry is non-existent and I've been waiting 6 months so far for treatment for a joint problem with no end in sight. Exactly the same as in 1997.
Jan, Guildford, UK
The question is, if there wasn't an election on the horizon, would Michael Howard care less about the plight of Mrs Dixon? I don't think so. I believe, with the exception of the worrying MRSA issue, the NHS has improved, as regards waiting lists at least.
Sarah, Essex, UK
The NHS is undoubtedly better than at any time in the past. The trouble is that people's expectations have also galloped apace in recent years. It is perfectly possible to give us the best health service in the world. The question is - are we prepared to pay for it with substantially increased taxes?
Aloysius, Wiltshire
It is not a question of better or worse. It is a question of value for the increased budget provided by the current government; funded from tax and insurance increases. My opinion is that the present performance is less than we should expect from the increased funding. Specifically only four specialist beds for the district involved is ludicrous. A single road accident might require more than this. Which incompetent decided that four beds would be sufficient?
Cedric Corbett, Manchester
Interesting that Howard's lot ran the service into the ground. So far in fact that it's taken eight years for Labour to fix it. Things are a lot better in my experience. Not perfect - but we do have one of the best public healthcare systems in the world.
Pete, Bristol
I often wonder when the NHS was first set up in 1948 whether they envisaged just what a leviathan the service would turn into. I am convinced that in its present form this is as good as it gets.
Chris Naylor, England
I had an operation in December. There were only enough pillows for us to have one each. There were only rubber gloves in small size. It's all down to money, no matter how dedicated the staff are - and they are. Management manage by budget and government targets. I recall the government awarding the National Health Service more money - their first move was to set up a new government department to administer it. I wonder how many millions vanished before the doctors, nurses, porters, cleaners, radiographers, etc. saw a penny?
Pip, Bristol, England
| My business has gone bust having to try to fit three months off work with trying to keep my shop open |
I myself have been in the same position as Margaret Dixon. I had my operation cancelled four times. With a good chance I would never be able to walk again, a small risk of death - it affects your whole life. My business has gone bust having to try to fit three months off work with trying to keep my shop open. I would get everything ready, get cover while I was off.
Then after being in hospital for two or three days going as far as having the pre-op� waiting outside the operation theatre on a trolley, needles hanging out my arms, I was told sorry no intensive care beds so please go home. The last time it happened I contacted my local MP (Labour). She put some pressure on and I had the operation within a week.
John Harrison, Falmouth, Cornwall
The British should stop moaning. The NHS may be poor, but it's free. Here in South Africa, they doubled doctor's fees this week, so poor people can't afford medical help! Here, you either get bled dry with a well-overpriced medical aid insurance policy, otherwise you don't pay and pray you don't get something serious.
If you have an accident or something seriously wrong, you end up paying massive debts for years for the operation and the bed. Sometimes 5-star hotels are cheaper than our hospitals! You should all be glad that you have the NHS. It may be outdated, under funded and slack - but the fact it is free is still the envy of the world!
Matthew Dean, Pinetown, South Africa
The NHS is like a broken computer - you don't throw good money at it - you get to a point where it needs replacing. Oh, and by the way is everyone aware of future plans for children under the age of 16 to be excluded from NHS dental care from 2006?
Anon, Wiltshire
My daughter recently needed treatment on a Saturday afternoon. Before Labour was elected, we would have had to wait until Monday morning or visit the A&E department of our local hospital. Instead we visited an NHS drop in centre and received what we needed in 55 minutes. The improvements Labour has brought to the NHS are real for all fair minded people to see.
Andrew Cunningham, Norwich, UK
Achieving targets will destroy the NHS. Cutting corners to get those patients through, in and out so the beds can be freed up. If a patient has to be readmitted, that's fine as I'll be classed as another visit. As has been reiterated many times in this forum, NHS staff are magnificent, the infrastructure, quangos, hospital trusts and management need to be revised. We are heading for a repeat of the train fiasco again with the NHS.
Dave, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Who in their right mind believes that the NHS would be safe in Tory hands? We had 20 years of Tory under funding in the NHS, it will take a lot longer than that to get back a level of service that people would like.
Mark, Epsom, Surrey
My wife works at the local hospital. The dedication of the doctors and nurses is unquestionable, however the management structure is a bureaucratic morass and staffed by incompetents more focused on appearance than patient care. I'd suspect that this is the case throughout the entire NHS.
Leigh, Essex
| And now Blair wants to give them another three months maternity leave I will never get seen |
I am unfortunately a high user of the NHS being physically disabled after 20 years service to my country. I need to see an occupational therapist, reply: Sorry yours is on maternity leave and no-one is covering for her, she won't be back for three months. I need to see my CPN: Sorry she is on maternity leave and we can't afford to get cover for her. I need to see my social worker: Sorry you will have to wait she is covering for two other social workers on maternity leave and is booked up for the next seven weeks.
And now Blair wants to give them another three months maternity leave I will never get seen. How many posts in the NHS are being replaced when the person is on maternity leave and how much more is it going to cost the NHS if every nurse radiographer female doctor physiotherapist cleaner kitchen assistant occupational therapist and other female staff get another three months paid leave? Does this government ever think?
Tarby, UK
I spent two weeks in hospital last year in Northern Ireland with food poisoning. It was a very uncomfortable experience. I spent the first twenty four hours on a trolley in the A&E leaking infected diarrhoea. I was subsequently moved into an isolation ward, which was filled with OAPs. They should not have been in hospital, the poor souls. The staffs were magnificent; from where I was lying it looked like they were on the verge of chaos all the time. A phrase one of the nurses used was, "re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic". I don't think the NHS has got any better.
Julian, Devon, UK
I've been waiting nearly two years for a knee operation, and was recently informed by the hospital that, although they have empty beds and lots of staff, all the primary health care trusts in West London have written to them telling them not to carry out these "minor" operations on people from West London until the new financial year. In the meantime, Ravenscourt Hospital are carrying out operations on people as far afield as Newcastle, yet they can't carry out an operation on me because I live in the wrong area.
Sue, London, UK
The main reason why there's a lack of staff in the NHS is because it pays for students to go to university to study, and then these students go off to do private work. If the NHS is paying for their tuition, then there should be some clause that these students must work for the NHS for a certain number of years (maybe as long as 10 years) or pay the fees back if they go private before then.
Dylan Griffiths, Bangor, North Wales I was told recently by my doctor that I needed an urgent MRI scan but the waiting list was "many weeks away". I was seen privately two days later with the results while I waited! Problem was identified and dealt with quickly. A good job i had private medical!
John Nelligan, Orpington, Kent
It is Tony Blair who has put his money where his mouth is and has been responsible for massive investment in the NHS. Does Howard think we are all so delusional that we forget that it was his government that ran the NHS into the ground in the first place?
Michael S, UK
| Arrogant consultants whose behaviour is the worst of any group of professionals |
I have experienced the NHS from personal experience and from visiting ill relatives. Each time has been a nightmare full of rude nurses, exhausted junior doctors who are having their enthusiasm pummelled out of them, and arrogant consultants whose behaviour is the worst of any group of professionals I have ever dealt with. Staffed with these people, poorly managed by public sector workers who do not understand business, what hope is there?
Patricia, Henley, UK It's just like our government to turn the NHS problem into yet another political backstab, in light of the elections. I wouldn't trust either party with a vote of thanks, never mind the NHS.
Daniel N, Kent, UK
With any large organisation personal experience will vary widely. Just try different branches of Tesco, service standards vary. The cleaning problems in hospitals stem from the days of externalising services. When I had a short stay in hospital I reported the dirty state of the toilet but the nurse said it was nothing to do with them. The Thatcher concept of the NHS was an emergency service for people who did not go private.
Ed Smith, Nottingham, UK
| We've all been told to be grateful because it's free |
Why do we tolerate the NHS? Why, in this demanding, consumer-led society we have created aren't we storming down the doors of Parliament expressing our disgust? Because we've all been told to be grateful because it's free and that it's not nice to say anything bad about the nice, hard-working doctors and nurses who are only doing their best. Everything else in my life I pay for the best I can afford and I complain if it's substandard. I pay for the NHS through taxes and I get what I'm given with no recourse if it doesn't meet my expectations. Put the power in the hands of the consumer, privatise the whole thing and stop trying to tell us it works fine when it patently doesn't.
LHK, London, UK You could have a million success stories that go unnoticed, and then have one bad case which gets highlighted, hyped and smeared. This is a cheap shot by Michael Howard. What exactly did the Tories do for the NHS that was so brilliant?
Ross, UK
Well done to Mrs Dixon, who is the cleverest of the lot. She has created a huge media storm which will only result in her getting her much needed operation. Clever lady!
Jon Harrison, York University, England
| Maybe I would have been one of the many who died waiting |
I have been a nurse for 20 years. During that time I have worked under both Labour & Conservative administrations. I have recently become unwell and need heart valve surgery. I am being admitted on 9 March for a mitral valve replacement. I have been waiting only since 20 January for this surgery. I have been treated with total respect, professionalism and efficiency since becoming unwell. I shudder to think what it would have been like under the Tories. Maybe I would have been one of the many who died waiting for surgery. Michael Howard is using this woman as a political stunt. I wonder if he would be so keen to use my story?
Stuart Cummings, Glasgow, Scotland I'm a foreigner. Last week I cut my finger with a knife (nothing serious). I walked into an NHS hospital. No delays. No badgering about insurance as you'd get in my country, the US (though I am insured). I'm sure the NHS needs constant attention and reform. But I could tell you horror stories about the private, for profit system as well (for example, the poor are left out of it; they also have MRSA problems). The NHS is a humane institution. I am impressed.
Melissa, London, UK
I have two friends who need the same medication. One in the UK and one in the USA. One is public domain, one is privatised. To stay alive they both need this medication. In the UK, it's fully covered on the NHS. In America, my friend has to contribute $2,000 a month for this treatment. Even though I've never needed NHS treatment, I'm proud to pay my National Insurance, as I know that I'm helping provide that helping hand to those that are unfortunate enough to become ill or hurt.
Adam, London, UK
The NHS was and is the pride of Britain, created by Old Labour. Unfortunately it is regularly undermined by the Right who want to privatise everything. Last year I had a hernia operation in the local NHS hospital, but never yet met my consultant surgeon who seemed to prefer his other work treating private patients in the private hospital next door. Why does 'New Labour' allow such private practices to flourish at the expense of general taxpayers who through their National Insurance contributions, etc have usually helped to educate and train these medics at least partially in NHS facilities?
John Albert, Canterbury, Kent
The NHS has had a very bumpy ride for many years, under both political parties. I have worked in our local hospitals for nearly 20 years in different jobs and different specialities - the pressure to cut expenditure and still provide good service has always been the same, but lately the new systems put in place by government departments is causing many of us more stress and ill health than people realise. I don't know anyone working in the NHS who is not counting down to their retirement!
Peggy Murray, Rochester, Kent Yes, the NHS could be better. Yes, politicians are and will always be out to score political points. However, the NHS is probably the biggest success story in the UK since the second world war. Who now dies of polio, TB, measles, simple cancers and a myriad of similar disappearing or controlled conditions? The only real problem facing the NHS is that Joe Public doesn't like paying enough for it and is only too willing to gobble up tax cuts. Compared to the rest of Europe we are all guilty - and Joe Public can't be bothered with voting, which is why we end up with self serving politicians. Applaud the NHS, pay the going rate and vote - then things may change.
Derek Holland, Compton Berkshire
Mr Howard was right to question Blair over the NHS, but to try and gain political capital out of it is wrong. Blair and co. keep telling us how great things are and how they have spent millions of pounds of our taxes in investments within the NHS. However, when scrutinised in the public eye it seems to be something completely different. The sooner we take the NHS away from politicians the better. It should be replaced by a non-government institution run by the right people, i.e. the Consultants, Doctors, Nurses etc, with a transparent accounting system. The sooner we do this the better.
Ray, London, England
My personal experience is that while most NHS staff are committed, the system is chaotic and bureaucratic, is not patient-focused, hospitals are in some cases frankly dilapidated - I suspect because managers would rather have one hi-tech 'showpiece' ward than do basic cleaning and refurbishment on old Victorian buildings. Those who think the NHS is the best health service in the world need to visit hospitals in mainland Europe or the far east where they would be appalled at having wards of a dozen people, let alone mixed-sex wards. And as for 'free', you're deluding yourself. You may not get a bill, but only someone who doesn't earn, doesn't drive, drink, smoke or buy anything, could say the NHS is free. It's an inefficient, outdated, bureaucratic dinosaur haemorrhaging money from ever pore.
Rob, London, UK
| These little publicity stunts are not doing anything to make me vote one way or the other |
I just wish political parties would stop telling me how bad things have got because they are not in power. I'm not interested - I only want to know what, and how, they can make things better if I voted for them. These little publicity stunts are not doing anything to make me vote one way or the other, although I do sympathise with Mrs Dixon and hope she gets her operation soon.
Paul, Halifax, UK Firstly, I got four letters for you: MRSA. Secondly, I have friends and relatives who work either with or for the NHS. Doctor's and nurses on the front line are modern-day saints who work so hard whilst putting up with sometimes difficult and even violent patients. But the management system in place on the NHS is a shambles which urgently needs sorting out. On a personal note, the NHS has not proven successful for me during recent health problems and I was forced to go private, but I do not question for one moment the ability or desire of those who worked there to try and make me better. I am sure cases like the one highlighted by the BBC are just as frustrating for the doctors and nurses almost as much as the families involved.
Stuart, Warwick, UK
How many times have we all been told not to generalise from the particular? Yet here we go again with the papers and other news media doing just that. My experience of the NHS, and that of my family and friends, has been excellent. Will the satisfied majority please speak up, or even better stop buying the awful press we have at the moment.
Keith Torode, Northallerton, England
I do not know what people are complaining about. We have the best health service in the World... For free! Do not forget that.
Robert Ward, Stowmarket, UK
Why don't you ask the Labour party about access to an NHS dentist, which seems to have gone badly adrift during their term of office. I think you will find they have no idea where people will find NHS treatment.
David, Scotland
I cannot speak highly enough of our local NHS hospital. But that is in respect of the over burdened, hard working and dedicated staff employed there. Their task would be made so much easier if they had less government interference, less silly targets to juggle, and a bigger slice of government funding being channelled directly into front line services. We have a pretty good foundation for our health service. It is the way it is managed that needs to be improved Dr Reid.
Peter, Aylesbury, UK
As a hospital doctor I can confirm that there is so much more funding and available money within the NHS under the current government. While this case is upsetting and should not occur, it is isolated. You don't get anything without spending and this government is spending.
Dr Jonathan Hewitt, London Mr Howard is trying to score cheap political point by highlighting one case and presenting it as the norm. The Tories plans to spend money on contributing to the cost of private operations for those who can afford it, would do nothing to improve the NHS.
Gareth Edwards, Stoke on Trent, UK
How much more criticism of the NHS do we need to take? We the healthcare profession are doing our best to provide a high quality service in difficult financial circumstances and all this type of story does is demoralise an already stretched, tired and stressed staff. Come on politicians give us some support don't run us down!
Rebecca, Norfolk
When Michael Howard's party was in power, he let the NHS gradually deteriorate. When he was Shadow Chancellor, he voted against extra investment in the NHS. Now he's Tory party leader, he's running down the whole NHS and proposing diverting NHS money to private healthcare. Anyone would think he was against the whole principle of the National Health Service.
Anthony, Coventry
I think that the NHS is the best it's ever been for years and years. My son had excellent treatment within a few hours of going to the local A&E, plus excellent follow up treatment. I had an appointment within a very short time to see a gynaecologist after my doctor recommended I see one. The NHS are brilliant. Much better these days.
Elsie Chisnall, Wigan Lancashire
When I had a back problem my GP wanted to put me on the NHS "waiting-list-to-see-a-consultant". I asked him how long this would take and he said about a month - that's a month to see the consultant, not to get treated! Fortunately I have private health -cover and was able to arrange a meeting with a consultant later that week. I had my operation and was back at work within two weeks. Life's too short to wait for the NHS to get round to treating you.
Roger Price, Reading, UK
I utterly despair at seeing Margaret Dixon's family exploited by Michael Howard for a cheap publicity stunt. Do they not realise that if Howard and the Tories return to power, there won't be an NHS?
AC, Bournemouth
People have such different experiences of the Health Service. My husband had quicker and better treatment when the Tories were in power. We can only speak from our own experiences.
Nancy Harrison, Pickering, North Yorks, England
I can remember a friend of mine who was being treated for leukaemia having to sleep in a makeshift bed in a hallway, as there was no room in any wards, that was approx 15 years ago (and under a Tory Government), surely this shows that the NHS has been under funded for years and the Conservatives have no right to try and blame the Labour Party
Ian Lythaby, UK
I am fed up with people focusing on one person and saying that this is the state of the whole NHS. I have been in hospital twice for operations and each time the service has been first class. I wonder how many of the people who moan about the NHS have actually used it!
John Dickinson, Bridgend, Wales
Patients have always had to have operations cancelled under every government, so Howard's question is patently absurd. What I'm sure about is that the strategic policies about promoting improvements and rewarding excellence are light years ahead of what they were 8 years ago.
Andy Millward, Broxbourne, UK
My heart goes out to Mrs Dixon my father has had to wait 3 months to start cancer treatment. What people actually experience is totally different to what politicians say. They should spend some time in the real world!
Stephen J, Wales
It's two years since a knee operation that left me permanently on crutches and forced to live on benefits. It took me over a year to get an appointment in a specialist orthopaedic hospital. Then I waited so long for a proper rehabilitation programme my other knee has failed. Now I have to wait yet another nine months for more surgery on both knees and have no idea what the outcome will be. Despite my plight, I'm treated just as a routine case. The NHS hasn't worked for me. Just how many thousands of others are like myself and Margaret Dixon?
Chris Burge, Harrow, Middx
A few isolated cases that have arisen do not equate into labelling the NHS as 'bad', bad is the state that the NHS was in during the Conservative era, 'bad' or totally eradicated even, is what will emerge if this country decides to give the Conservatives another chance. We in this country seem to suffer bouts of memory loss!
Amy, Devon
| I've had both terrible and excellent service from the NHS, so it's difficult to generalise |
I've had both terrible and excellent service from the NHS, so it's difficult to generalise. There are big problems with the service, but it takes a great leap of faith to believe things will improve under the Tories.
Sean, Liverpool Every time I have had to use the NHS it has been fantastic. The staff are dedicated (lets face it - no one works for the NHS for the money). We have had this on the cheap for a long time and it's about time we paid them a decent salary. In a way, it's nice to see the staff shortages because it is getting to the point that supply and demand means we will have to pay a reasonable rate for the job. A lot of money has gone into the service and I fail to see how the Conservatives will make it better by spending less. Their record on the NHS funding was hardly exemplary.
Nick, Cambridge, Cambs
I have just returned home after having my operation cancelled for the second time due to lack of HDU beds. Both times I was gowned up and ready to go to theatre. My op has now been scheduled for a fifth time in a few weeks. Whilst this is a nuisance and has distressed me, I have to accept the fact that someone had a far greater need than me for the one HDU bed that was available. The NHS is struggling, but it is trying to improve and there certainly have been significant improvements.
Roisin, Twickenham, UK
The NHS is good for people waiting for life-saving operations, but for everyone is it cumbersome. Hopefully the new IT systems currently being built will revolutionise the health industry.
Mike Bartlett, Chatham
I am disgusted over this cheap shot to make cheap political capital. What about all of the good news stories in the NHS today and with their past record who thinks that the Tories were ever any friends of the NHS? People in glass houses should not throw stones.
Kevin, Ayrshire
| We have an NHS we can be proud of |
I have a son who has a lifelong medical condition. Since his premature birth, the care he has received has been outstanding. He is currently under the care of five different areas, Neurology, Paediatrics, Ophthalmic, Audiology and Physiotherapy - the service we receive is first class. I believe the media is focusing on one extreme case, I'm sure there are others, but credit where it is due - we have an NHS we can be proud of, a world class example.
Sue Harley, Chester, UK Why do politicians use patients as a vehicle to score points against each other? At best it places unfair stress on the patient involved and at worst hospital managers may be forced into making decisions not based on clinical need. How does this help anyone?
Alastair, Cambridge, UK
The NHS knockers and whiners will one day get what they deserve. A privatised system where they will only be able to dream about certain treatments as the cost will be too much even if they do sell their house. Then who will they turn to, to complain? This is a political stunt by a party still bereft of any credible campaign platform who are frantically testing the water for something to adopt as a talisman for the coming election.
Clive, Milwaukee, USA. Brit
If current spending trends continue, by 2007, money going into the NHS will have more than doubled from 1997 figures. Although, headline grabbing, long term waiting lists for operations have been dramatically reduced, the overall average waiting time has hardly changed. Where are all these extra billions and billions being wasted?
Tim, UK
My wife cannot get to see a gynaecologist in less than 6 months even though she may have a serious problem, my daughter can't see a dermatologist in less than 12 months, my neighbours operation this week was postponed six times and eventually carried out at another hospital. GPs have closed lists, no NHS dentists exist. Where is all this great NHS treatment?
Mark Lewis , London
I am in the military and have just returned from an overseas tour. My wife and two children cannot find a NHS dentist in the county (not just locally) to register at so we have had to go private. This is a common occurrence for service families. While overseas we had to use the local health facilities. They put the NHS to shame. Quick processing, clean and welcoming environments and excellent after care. I'm sure our doctors and nurses are fantastic (I can't comment on the dentists) but the infrastructure in which they work is broken and I cannot see it being mended soon, by anyone.
Anon, Lincs
The NHS should be left alone, above politics, to get on with their excellent work.
Prof Mohan Edirisinghe, Uxbridge, UK
The level of care in the NHS is amazing but that is not the problem. The government spends so much money on pointless PR exercises etc and ignores what is needed. More beds, more hospitals and better infrastructure.
Michael Joslin, New Malden, UK
My 3-year-old grandson visited Kettering General A&E on last Sunday with a dislocate shoulder. He was seen, treated and discharged within three minutes (yes three minutes). Any one else like to better that?
John, Kettering, Northants
Don't believe that all is great in the private health sector. A friend of mine with cancer was operated on and a mistake made which resulted in him losing the ability to speak. The difference is, the press don't seem to complain about the many, massive failings of the private sector.
Ian Bartlett, Chesham, UK
The NHS is better, I waited 11 days for my operation.
Fiona, UK
I have worked in the NHS since 1975 and although we have had and still do have problems the NHS at the moment is better than it has been for years. The NHS under the Tories was appalling! But the current target driven culture is nearly as bad. Decisions on treatment priorities must be made on clinical grounds (and I am sure they have been in this case). The gains that have been made in the NHS are purely due to the effort and dedication of the NHS staff. Fund us properly and leave us to get on with it!
Kevin Spencer, Bury St Edmunds, UK
The NHS has gone from bad to worse under New Labour! I had voted for them thinking they would change things but alas they have made it worse! As an ex NHS employee I have seen its decline. It's now all government targets and whether the trust will get their money for meeting them. The patient care and treatments we were once proud of have been replaced by how many people can we treat and get the money for in a day.
Dennis Owen, Acton, London
| All the Labour Party are concerned about is targets |
My uncle was taken into hospital for an operation. The operation was a routine hip operation and he should have been out of hospital within a few weeks. Whilst in hospital he was dropped when being transferred from one bed to another. Subsequently he had to be operated on again to re-align the hip. He contracted MRSA. He left hospital and then contracted pneumonia - a symptom of MRSA. I have no doubt that MRSA killed him.
All the Labour Party are concerned about is targets. My family have suffered a loss because of the lack of hygiene in hospitals. What is Tony Blair going to do about it? If one of his kids were to be rushed into hospital would s/he be sent to a private hospital or go to an NHS, like St Thomas's and wait to be admitted like the ordinary person? I don't think so.
Diane, London
Labour are playing a bad game of politics with peoples lives. Blair is ignorant of what is really going on. All his arguments are about statistics not real people or real examples and when real examples are given he dismisses them like the mindless pompous arrogant politician he tries to be.
Mike, Blackpool, UK
My plight is no way near as bad as Margaret Dixon's. My 5-year-old son has been on a waiting list at Seacroft hospital in Leeds for 12 months awaiting teeth extraction. I have been informed that the waiting list is 14 months. What kind of NHS do we have when a child has to suffer for so long? My view as a parent is that is certain areas the NHS is getting worse.
Joanne Haley, Leeds
The leader of the opposition uses an individual to embarrass the prime minister. If it was not Michael Howard doing it to Tony Blair then it would be Tony Blair doing it to Michael Howard. This story has less to do with the failings of the NHS than point scoring in the build up to an election.
Michael
After several recent visits to hospital I can say with certainty that the NHS is improving, but you don't get anything for nothing! And yes I would be happy to pay extra tax to see even more improvement... unlike the Tories who would run it into the ground privatise it and sell us expensive health care plans instead!
Chris, Brighouse
Having recently been diagnosed and had treatment planned for prostate cancer, my experience has been infinitely better in terms of speed, care and information than that of my sister and father-in-law who both faced cancer under the Tory NHS. There has to be a restricted number of intensive care beds because they require highly specialised equipment and staff and therefore doctors and chief executives have to give priority to emergency cases which this woman was not.
Having tried to characterise NHS staff as incompetent, uncaring and slovenly, Michael Howard will get punished at the ballot box - not just by the thousands of NHS staff who are furious at this image, but also by many like me who appreciate the massive improvements which have been made.
David Wotherspoon, Ormskirk, West Lancs
The NHS staff are great. The service is not. Doctors not politicians should be running the service.
Richard, Essex
I think that it unfair because she had to say good bye so many times just in case it didn't work.
Ruth, Manchester
I wonder if Mrs Dixon appears on any waiting list figures. She appears to have ended up doing a lot of waiting, but perhaps her scheduled appointments, though subsequently cancelled, have enabled those concerned to keep her case off them.
Tim McElligott, Broxbourne, Herts
Governments come and governments go and the only difference in the delivery of service I have ever noticed is with changes in technology. If I go to an accident and emergency ward, I will still wait 4-5 hours, still 3-4 months to see a consultant and still people around me dying for the sake of a single bypass operation. Labour is taking too much pride in spending far more of our money with no improvement.
Lee, London, UK
My gripe is all the people who want a better health service but want it cheaper. The NHS does a good job on the money it gets. It could improve, but we have to be prepared to pay for it, and not keep voting for the party that promises to lower taxes (especially the party that's stirring up this story!).
Nick Mackin, London, UK
Acute care is good. However, people in great pain but not suffering a life-threatening illness still have to wait a long time for treatment. I've worked in the NHS for several years and the medical staff do seem to be stretched to their limits. At the same time, management and administration is expanding, with more time being spent complying with government requirements to collect statistics in ways that show waiting lists to be shorter than they really are.
Jane, Oxford, UK
My wife has come through treatment for breast cancer. The NHS was quick to diagnose and treat, empathic throughout, giving support to the whole family. Howard's attempt to damn the NHS with one example of failure is a very cheap shot indeed.
Phil, Market Drayton
I recently found myself in my local A&E in the early hours of a Saturday night/Sunday morning following an accident at home. The staff were reduced to one doctor (who had been called into to cover) and a handful of nurses. Although my care may have taken a little bit longer than it would have done if a full staff had been available, I was treated with the utmost care. On the occasion that I needed the NHS, the NHS were there for me and the skeleton staff were truly amazing.
Marie, UK
The Prime Minister is not responsible for every single patient's treatment. He is responsible for ensuring that enough money is going into the NHS to pay for what he wants it to achieve. That he is achieving with flying colours!
Stuart, London, UK
| I personally had a very good experience with the NHS. This doesn't mean that the NHS is good as a whole though |
The NHS might have always had a bad reputation but without looking at the facts and figures, the general public cannot really conclude that much, especially on one example alone. Although my following point is based on speculation, I believe Michael Howard is exaggerating this one case to make Labour look bad in the run-up to the elections.
This in turn gives an unfair and deliberately inaccurate representation of the NHS. After all, Michael hasn't given any relative figures or facts outside one person. He has just said "so many people". I personally had a very good experience with the NHS. This doesn't mean that the NHS is good as a whole though.
Will, London
I and my children have been in hospital on rare occasions, but the frequency is increasing as they get older - regular visits to A&E are commonplace when you have sons who are mad on skateboarding and BMX! I have never had a problem. Given the numbers of people treated on the NHS every day, the problems this poor woman is having are somewhat isolated. The media is so predictable in taking an isolated case and blowing it up out of all proportion.
Ian, UK
I needed the NHS barely two years ago, the staff are heroes, the care was professional and this was in a new modern hospital. Of course there are exceptions, but it is not the rule. The Tories are playing politics and they are undermining the NHS, shame on them!
Rob, Northfleet
People have short memories. When the Tories were in government the NHS was starved of funds and was slowly dying. The NHS has improved immensely but a lot of work still needs to be done. It is certainly better now than eight years ago. I think Mr Howard has selective memory loss regarding our health service.
Kenneth O'Boyle, Perth, Scotland
It doesn't matter whether it is better or worse. The fact is that it is bad right now - and the government should be doing something about it.
Kimberly Down, Lowestoft, Suffolk
It is impossible to judge the NHS on one individual case. The Tories are playing politics and will lose this one. Over the last year I have close experience of cancer care, general surgery, local GP and geriatric care-all wonderful. I shudder to think how people in the US pay for the level of health care we expect in this country. Would Kimberly of Lowestoft care to elaborate on her comments please?
David, Beverley Yorkshire
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